Co-existence measures and legal aspects

In legislation on genetically modified organisms and co-existence, Croatia is far behind the EU - and a de facto ban ensures that co-existence will not become a topic in the near future. After the passing of the first legislation on GMOs in 2003, a Genetically Modified Organisms Act was adopted in 2005. This act, however, does not cover co-existence and traceability.

Legal framework

At the moment, no legislation on co-existence is foreseen in Croatia, whereas the implementation of the Genetically Modified Organisms Act ensures the traceability of GMOs. Moreover, the labelling of products containing GMOs already is obligatory, according to the Consumer Protection Act, and the EU threshold for labelling was adopted in the Decree on thresholds (see also Traceability and labelling).

Unauthorised GM maize ploughed down

In spring 2004, the national GMO laboratory found that 0.5 to 0.7 percent of conventional corn seeds actually were genetically modified. Croatia had neither authorised nor conducted risk assessments on the GMOs that were present, and it was concluded that the unauthorised transgenes could spread to other maize plantings. Based on the Consumer Protection Act, the MAFWM decided to plough down maize fields grown from the tested seed. Affected farmers were compensated approximately 1,000 euros per hectare, and the government officially charged the company responsible for importing the unauthorised seed.